The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1887-05-06
WOMAN'S WORK.

Conscientious Discrimination to Be Exer-
cised in the Performance of Home Du-
ties.
Almost every woman has, at some
time in her life, wished for two pairs
of hands, because there was so many
things she wanted to do at once. Few
take the thought to realize that these
things could be classified as the must
be-dones and the wish-to-be-dones, but
they can be so classified, The first
we do any way Cor ought toy, and 1
think they are not usually those we
worry over, except as they stand in
the way of our accomplishing the wish
to-be-dones. There is a possible way
of lessening our voluntary, or involun-
tary, fretting about this matter, and
that is what shall try to write about.
First of all, work as Systematically
and economically in regard to time as
you can. That goes almost without
saying; and the ability to do it comes
as reward for long, patient practice
towards this end.
The second direction is even less
easy, and requires longer experience
than the first, before It's following is
an accomplished fact. Constantly use
your best judgment to discriminate be-
tween the things that can wait and
those that can not. Attend to the first
at the proper time, and say to the
others: ''Take your turn
In my home have two broad win
dow-sills devoted to different ends.
On one is my work-basket, and a good
piece of remaining space on which |
pile my mending and making. These
are must-be-dones. On the other |
put reading matter to be read or mailed
away, autumn leaves to be pinned to
my curtains, odds and ends to be put
together in an express package to some
friend or school, a scrap-book to be
pasted full of the bits now lying in the
box [ put on top of it, the bundle of
old cotton to 60 to the hospital, the
magazine to be carried to my friend
and all the other ''extras' that are in
my thoughts and intentions. There is
such Ething as an orderly disorder,
and my window-sill is an example of
it. 1t is never wholly cleaned but
one by one it's contents receive my at
tention, without worry, with thought,
without neglect, with unavoidable de-
lay, without procrastination, and yet
with ''wait until another day"
If l fret, my window-sill loses its
charm and pleasure. If do not, 1
come to it again and yet again, slip
off one little waiting thing and then
another, with the thought: 'FThis is
your turn, and how much good you
will do when you will get to where l
am sending you"
Perhaps this plan would be danger
Gus for some. 1t does take good deal
of conscientious management of time.
1t is not easy to keep things from lying
there too long, and yet long enough
not to interfere with the must be-dones.
But then, is there any department of
our work or pleasure into which con-
scientiousness must not come if we
would grow and be good? And there
is deal of satisfaction in coming
around to these little extras and think
ing, 81 have earned the right to do
this and enjoy it.
Visiting comes somewhat under this
head; so does fancy work; so does So
cial letter writing, and the different
things that are pleasures to different
people, The must-be-dones of some
persons lives are the -to-be-dones
of others, and vice versa. No definite
lists of things under either head can be
made.
The gist of the whole matter and its
individual value lies in conscientious
discrimination, cheerful waiting,
prompt attendance to each item when
the opportunity does come, and the
putting aside of impatient fretfulness;
not easy, but worth while. Every
thing that adds to our value to others,
that increases our ability to do, that
expands our thought in management,
that helps our lives to reach out and
touch other lives. in a helpful way, and
that puts good work into the world, is
always worth while. --JGfaiata Stafford,
IN Good housekeeping.